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An outpost at the intersection of Life and Disney

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Those of you with long memories may recall that I've been working on a series about cruising aboard the Disney Magic.

(Click here if you want to go back to the start of the tour). Last timewe were topside, so this time let's take a look below decks.

Guests board the Magic in grand style, with their arrival being formally announced at a party in the Lobby Atrium:

This fantastic space starts at Deck 3, Midship and stretches all the way up to Deck 5. Here's the view from Deck 5 looking down:

From Deck 5 you can see the "signature" statue of Mickey at the wheel:

Behind the statue is the entrance to Lumiere's, which is *almost* the nicest place to eat (we'll cover the restaurants in a future post).The Lobby Atrium contains some of the best decorative details aboard. For example, the banisters on the grand staircases feature character silhouettes. While I don't have a picture that does them justice, these menu covers contain a reproduction of the detail:

Back in the lobby, take a closer look at the elevator shafts -- the design incorporates familiar headgear (in multiple scales!):

Between each deck there's a delightful series of classic characters, including Mickey, Pluto, Clarabelle(!!), Daisy, the Goof, and many others:

We were told by a crew member that each character is dressed to represent one of each of the different crew disciplines on board. (And yes, I was informed that employees of the Disney Cruise line are "crew", not "castmembers".)

In our next installment, we'll leave the Lobby Atrium and take a walk down this hallway on Deck 4: